Ribbon inking device



May 12, 1931 J, FORTIER Y 1,804,976

RIBBON INKING DEVICE Filed Aug. 15, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet l mill unllmmlmn 'HIHIHII- whlllllllu.

lhnmllmmnu May 12, 1931. J. G. FORTIER 0 RIBBON INKING' DEVICE Filed Au 15, 1928 4 Sheets-sheet 2 IIIIE way-' lhve'ntor:

y 2, 1931. J. G. FolTlER RIBBON INKING DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug.

l l l y 1931. J. G. FORTIER- RIBBON mxme DEVICE F iled Aug. 15. 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented May 12, 1931 UNITED sTAras PATENT OFFICE {LAKES G. IOMIEB, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO RIBBON-INK (20., INC.,

v CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS RIBBON mxmennvrcn Application filed August 15, 1928. Serial No. 299,109.

y invention relates to ribbon inking devices.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a' simple, efiicient device by means of which the users of typewriter ribbons.

may have the ribbons inked in their own oflices.

A further object is to provide an improved device of the ty ewriter, indicated above, in which one of the wringer rollers is readily removed to facilitate the placement and replacement of the ribbon.

A further object is to provide-improved means for mounting the supply roll. A '15 further object is to provide improved means for mounting the take-up spool.

A further object is to provide improved means for mounting the ink reservoir.

A further object is to provide improved means for driving the take-up spool.

Further objects will appear from the description and claims.

In the drawings, in which an embodiment of my invention is shown,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of ribbon inking machine; a p

ig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section thereon; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of so Fig 2;

ig. 4 is a section substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. '5 is a section on the line 5,5 of

v Fig 2; g i I 86 ig. 6 isa section substantially on the hue 6-6 of Fig. 2;

K Fig. 7 is a' section on the line 77 of Fig. 6;

ig. 8 is a detailed perspective view showing a detail;

ig. 9 is an axial, section showing a suppl roll mounting;

Fig. 10 is an axial section showing tlie take-up spool mounting; I 5 Fig. 11 is a view showing a modified form of wringer roll mounting;

Fig. 12 -is a perspective view showing a I detail of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is an elevational view showing '60. still another form of wringer rol-l mounting;

mechanism is mounted, means for rotat- 16-16 of Fig. 15. Referring to the drawings in detail:

The ribbon inking machine shown therein comprises a main frame 1 having a pair of side plates 2 between which most of the ably mounting the supply roll 3, means for rotatabl mounting the take-up spool 4, means or suppl ing ink to the ribbon 5 as it passes from the su ply roll to the takeulp spool, and means or evenly distributing t e ink on the ribbon and squeezing out any excess ink acting on. the ribbon between the inking mechanism and the take-up spool. The frame may be of any suitable material, that shown being sheet metal, but it is obvious that it might be made of other materials, such as bakelite, etc.

The side plates 2 are secured to the base 5a by means of the lugs 56 (Fig. 5) which extend through openings in the base plate 5a and are bent over after being inserted to hold the arts assembled.

This in ng mechanism comprises an inkwell or reservoir 6 resting on a pair of cross bars 7 extending between the two sides of the frame so that the ink well is readily removable and replaceable when desired, and a pair of intermeshing inking rollers or gears 8 mounted in the ink'reservoir. The lower one of these corrugated rollers extends down into the ink and carries ink up to the upper corrugated roller, the teeth or corrugatlons of which engage the lower side of the ribbon and supply ink thereto. The ink rollers are so mounted as to be readil removable and replaceable from the ink wel the construction shown for thispurpose com- 1 prising grooves or notches 9 in theink well into which the ends of the shafts 10 on which the ink rollers are mounted extend. In order to guide the ribbon in its movement and hold it in proper relation with respect to the upper inking roller this upper roller is provided with circular flanges 11 between which the ribbon travels. A suitable cover 12 is provided for the'rece tacle to be used when the ribbon is not in p ace.

The construction for distributin the ink over the ribbon and removing t e excess ink comprises a air of wringer rollers 13, the lower one 0 which is mounted on a shaft 14 extending between two sides of the frame (Fig. 6) and the upper one of which is mounted in a sup-port 15 which has a readily detachable connection with respect to the sides of the frame so that this upper roller may be readily removed when desired to facilitate the placement and replacement of the ribbon. The lower roller may be driven by hand by means of a suitable handle 16 secured to the shaft on which the lower roller is mounted. Suitable means may be providedfor wiping off the excess ink from the lower roller, the means shown for this purpose being a sponge or similar wiper 17 seated in funnel-like extension 18 of the ink well, which is in communication with the main portion of the ink well through an opening 18.

The upper roller is mounted in a yoke 19 having, a resilient connection with the supporting cross piece 15 which is detachab y connected with the sides of the frame. The resilient connection between the yoke and cross piece is effected by means of a pin 20, the lower end of which is secured to the yoke and the upper end of which is threaded into a head or nut 21 slidably mounted in the tubular adjusting screw 22 which in turn is threaded into the cross piece 15. A coil compression spring 23 is provided for yieldingly holding the upper roller in engagement with the ribbon so that as the ribbon travels between the two rollers the spots of ink placed thereon by the inking roller will be uniformly spread out and distributed to secure a uniform inking action and to squeeze out any excess ink. A lock nut 24 is provided for holding the adjusting screw 22 in the proper adjusted position. The detachable connection between the cross piece 15 and the side members of the frame is effected by means of a pair of slidable spring pressed headed members 25, the heads of which cooperate with key-hole slots 26 (Fig- 8) in the sides of the frame. In this connection it is to be noted that the ends of the shaft 27 on which the upper wringer roller is mounted extend into and are positioned by the extensions 28 of these key-hole slots. The headed members 25 are sl'idably mounted in cup-shaped members 29 secured to the downward extensions 30 of the cross piece 15, coil compression springs 31 being provided for holding the heads 25 in the enlarged portions 32 of the key-hole slots.

The means for rotatably mounting the supply roll comprise a stationary bearing the cross bar in position.

stud 33 (Fi 9) having a tip portion 34 which exten s into the wooden core of spool on which the ribbon is wound, and a slidably mounted bearing member 35 having a tip portion 36 which extends into the 0 ening 37 in the spool on the other side. T ese bearing members are rovided with flange portions 38 for engaging the sides of the spool. In order to hold the slidable bearing member 35 in engagement with the side of the spool a coil compression sprin 39 is provided. The outer end of the slidable bearing member is rovided with a handle or thumb piece 40 by means of which the bearing member 35 may be readily withdrawn from engagement with the spool when desired for removal and placement of the spool. I

The construction for rotatably mounting the take-up spool 4 (Fig. 10) comprises a spool clamping centering and sup orting device including a clamping member 41 engaging one side flange 42 of the take-up spool, and rotatably mounted in one of the side plates and a clamping member 43 engaging the other side of the take-up spool and rotatably mounted in an opening in the other side plate, the last clamping member having a reduced extension 44 passing through the sleeve portion 45 of the spool and threaded into an opening in the other clamping member. The clamping member 41 is rotatably mounted in a bushing 47 secured to the side plate 2 and is driven from the handle 16 by means of a pulley 48 mounted on the shaft 14, and an elastic belt 49 running over this pulley, and a pulley 50 mounted on the shaft portion 51 of the clamping member 41 over which the elastic belt passes.' This provides a slip friction drive for the take-up spool which tends to drive the take-up spool when handle is rotated but which permits slippage when necessary due to the change in size of the ribbon roll as it is wound up on the take-up spool.

For removal or placement of the take-up spool, the clamping member 43 is unscrewed from the other clamping member 41 and withdrawn laterally sufliciently to permit the removal or placement of the spool.

.1111 Figs. 11 and 12 is shown a different form of detachable mounting for the upper wringer roller 13. In this form the cross bar 15 is provided with T-sha ed ends 52, the narrow portions of which t down into notches 53 1n the upper ends of the side plates 2 to properly position the parts, a pair of leaf spring members 54 being provided for holding the cross bar in place having bent finger portions 55 which snap out into the opening 56 in the side plates to hold The cross bar may be released simply by forcing the finger pieces 57 inwardly to release the locking scription of the apparatus. To place a ribbon in position the supply spool 3 is ut in place as described in connection wit the construction shown in Fig. 9, the upper wrin r roller 13 bein removed as previous y described and t e ribbon is drawn over and placed in roper engagement with the upper inking ro ler 8 and secured to the takep spool, which is secured in Iposition as described in connection .with ig. 10. The upper wringer roller is then placed in position and the handle 16 is operated towind the ribbon from the supply roll on the take-up spool. During the process ink is supplied to the ribbon by means of the inking rollers and this'ink is evenly distributed over the ribbon and the excess inksqueezed therefrom by means of the wringer rollers The construction as shown in Figs. 15 and 16 comprises a face cam member 61 having an extension forming an ;operating handle 62, this cam member eing rotatably mounted on the post 63 secured to the yoke 19. The upper slopin faces 64 of the cam member cooperate wit a pair of rivet heads 65 secured to the sup ort 15 so that when the handle 62 is rotate in one direction the inclined faces 64 will bear against the rivet heads 65 and force the yoke 19 downwardly to increase the pressure between the wringer rollers. Pressure from the cam member 61 to the yoke 19 is transmitted through a sleeve 66 surrounding the post 63. An in dicator 67 is secured to the handle 62 and cooperates with suitable indicia 68 on the 4 pressure between the wringer rollers, even if the cam member is not causing a downward pressure on the yoke 19.

It is obvious that the device rovides a construction b means of which e users of typewriter ribbons may have their ribbons inked in their own oflices and one inwhich the wringer roller is readily removed to "facilitate the placement and replacement of the ribbon, and furthermore one in which ortions 59 which snap comprising meansfor mounting a supply roll for rotation, means for mounting a take-up spool for rotation, an inkin roller over which the ribbon passes from t e supply roll to the take-up .s 001, a pair ofwringer rollers between w ich the ribbon passes from the inking roller to the take-up spool and means for so mounting the upper wringer roller that it may be readily removed without the use of tools to facilitate placementvof the ribbonfrom the supply roll to the take-up. spool, the frame of the apparatus having a pair of openings therein, said mounting means comprisin a pair of spring members engageable an disen gageable with respect to said openings.

2. A typewriter ribbon inking apparatus comprising means for mounting a supply roll for rotation, means for mounting a takeup spool for rotation, an inking roller construction for supplying ink to'said ribbon as it passes from the supply roll to the take-up spool comprising an ink reservoir, a toothed roller which receives ink from said reservoir, and a second toothed. 'roller meshing with said first roller and engaging the ribbon for receiving the ink from the first toothed roller and supplying it to the ribbon, and a pair of wringer rollers between which the ribbon passes from the inking roller to the take-up spool. y

3. A typewriter ribbon inking apparatus comprising means for mounting a supply roll for rotation, means for mounting a takeup spool-for rotation, an inking roller construction for supplying ink to said ribbon as it passes from the supply roll to the takeup spool comprising an ink reservoir, a toothed roller which receives ink'from said reservoir and a second toothed roller meshing with said first roller and engaging the ribbon for receiving the ink from the first toothed roller and supplying it to the ribbon, a pair of wrin er rollers between which the ribbon passes rom the inking roller to the take-up spool, and means for so mounting the upper wringer roller that it may be readilyremoved without the use of tools to facilitate placement of ribbon from the supply roll to the take-up spool, the frame of said apparatus having 'a pair of openings therein, said mounting means comprisin a pair of spring members engageable and isengageable with respect to said openings.

4. A typewriter ribbon inking apparatus comprising means for mounting a supply roll for rotation, means for mounting a take-' as it passes from the suppl roll to the takea up spool comprising an in reservoir and a up spool for rotation, an inking roller construction for supplying ink to said ribbon roller with ink depositing projections thereon whlch receives 111k from said reservoir and supplies it to said ribbon, and a pair of wringer rollers between which the ribbon passes from the inking roller to the take-up spool, said inking roller being positioned so that the periphery thereof extends upward beyond animaginary line drawn from between the two wringer rollers to the point where the ribbon leaves said supply roll, whereby the ribbon is always maintained in contact with said inking roller.

5. A typewriter ribbon inking apparatus comprising means for mounting a supply roll for rotation, means for mounting a takeup spool for rotation, an inking roller construction for supplying ink to said ribbon as it passes from the suppl roll to the takeup spool comprising an in I reservoir and a roller with ink depositing projections thereon which'receives ink from said reservoir and supplles it to said ribbon, and a pear of wringer rolls between which the ribbon passes from the inking roller to the take-up spool, said upper wringer roll being removable to allow insertion of said ribbon' between the rolls, and said inking roller being positioned so that the periphery thereof extends upwardly beyond an imaginary line drawn from between the two wringer rolls to the point where the ribbon leaves said supply roll, whereby the ribbon is always maintained in contact with said inking roller.

6. A typewriter ribbon inking apparatus comprising means for mounting a supply roll for rotation, means for mounting a takeup spool for rotation, an inking roller construction for supplying ink to said ribbon as it passes from the supply roll to the takeup spool comprising an ink reservoir, a toothed roller which receives ink from said reservoir, and a second toothed roller meshing with said first toothed roller and engaging the ribbon for receiving the ink from the first toothed roller and supplying it to the ribbon, and a pair of wringer rollers between which the ribbon passes from the inking roller to the take-up spool, said second inking roller being positioned so that the periphery thereof extends upwardly beyond an imaginary line drawn from between the two wringer rolls to the point where the ribbon leaves said supply roll whereby the ribbon is always maintained in contact with said inking roller.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

- JAMES G. FORTIER. 

